There's very few reasons to break your bank by purchasing an Apple Vision Pro, but if you're a gamer at heart, then SteamVR compatibility may be another excuse to pick one up.
While many of the best VR headsets either exclusively run off PCs or are able to be connected to it, Apple's marketing push for the Vision Pro being a "Spatial Computing" device may raise your eyebrows as to whether it can also play SteamVR games.
Can you play SteamVR games with Apple Vision Pro?
There's no official way to play SteamVR games via Apple Vision Pro, with no available app. There's also a lack of VR controllers, meaning that if you could connect your PC setup to the Apple Vision Pro, you'll have a hard time playing any games.
In fact, the Apple Vision Pro apps list paints a fairly disappointing picture already, with limited support from major third-party apps. It's no surprise that, with Apple's history of locking down the ecosystem, we don't expect SteamVR support anytime in the near future, if ever.
However, some users have already found a way to access SteamVR to the Apple Vision Pro via an open-source app called ALVR, as spotted by James Abev on Twitter. Unfortunately, you can't play any games on it yet.
That being said, Steam Link is already available on the App Store, allowing you to remotely play your PC games on your iPhone or iPad. Valve also released a Steam Link for Meta Quest headsets recently too, so it could be something coming in the future. However, a lack of VR controllers definitely puts a roadblock right now, unless Apple releases its own VR controllers in the future.
That means that, if you're looking to pick up a VR headset to play your PCVR games with, you're better off picking the Meta Quest 3 over Apple Vision Pro. In fact, Meta is copying one of the main reasons to purchase the Apple Vision Pro, as well as taking the Travel Mode idea for Quest 3. While Apple Vision Pro reviews paint it as a fairly excellent device, with some negatives of course, is it really worth spending over $3000 more on it than the Quest 3? We doubt it.
Of course, if you must pick up an Apple Vision Pro, we'd suggest either checking out the Vision Pro demos in store for a taste of what it's like before buying, or wait for the Apple Vision Pro cheaper version, which is expected in the future.